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Two weeks ago to the day, Indiana led Indiana State 6-0 in Terre Haute.

Indiana ended up losing that game 15-7. The Hoosiers were outscored by the Sycamores 12-1 from the fourth inning onwards in the first meeting of the season between the two in-state foes.

Now, flash forward to 14 days later. The two teams met again, this time in Bloomington and this time the scoreline was flipped. It was Indiana State who got out to an early 6-0 lead on a rainy Tuesday night at Bart Kaufman Field.

Indiana entered the first encounter with Indiana State losers of five of their last eight games. The Hoosiers' 15-7 loss in Terre Haute made it six losses in nine games at the time.

Since then, it hasn't gotten much better for Indiana. The Hoosiers came into Tuesday night's chance at redemption having gone 4-4 since that first battle with the Sycamores on March 19.

"It's never a lack of effort or trying," head coach Jeff Mercer said on his team's season-long struggles. "Maybe some execution hasn't been great and then you have a little bit of self doubt creep in."

It looked like the frustration that Mercer has seen his team play with for much of this season was beginning to rear its head once again on Tuesday night.

The Hoosiers' pitching staff surrendered six runs on six hits to the Sycamores throughout the first four innings of the game. On the hitting side, Indiana entered the bottom of the fourth frame with three hits and a zero on the scoreboard in the 'run' column.

Then, the Hoosiers flipped a switch.

"We don't play well when we're tense and when we're trying to do too much," Jeff Mercer explained. "We play well when we have enthusiasm. We play well when we're loose and confident and we have a great plan and take a deep breath and relax and go do it."

"So, let's just have a good time," Mercer added on what he wanted to see from his team after falling behind early. "Let's have a little bit of fun. It's a fun game, this isn't labor. This isn't a job. This is fun."

What Indiana did over the last six innings of the game sure looked like fun for a Hoosier ball club that certainly needed it.

Indiana plated 16 runs on 11 hits from the fourth inning on against Indiana State on Tuesday night, including six-run innings in the fourth and the sixth.

"You've seen us grow and then take a step back," Mercer said. "We've shown some of those flashes, but today we really just looked like us. We're able to respond and come back and find a way to win. That's what I was really proud of. We were much more ourselves today."

Only time will tell if this resume-boosting win can turn the tides on what has been a season filled with disappointment for much of the year. This is an Indiana team that is battle-tested, the Hoosiers have played a tough non-conference schedule.

Mercer's talked at great lengths this season about the need to schedule tough opposition during the non-conference part of the schedule to come out better on the other side.

Could this be Indiana coming out better on the other side? Maybe, maybe not.

One thing that can't be questioned is that when this Hoosier team is on, they're tough to beat and they know it.

"When we play like we're capable of, we'll come out on the right side more often than not."

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